BARELY NINE days after two-year-old Madhav fell to his death in the lift shaft of Hotel Solitaire at Manimajra, 21-year-old Anuj Kumar of Sector 28 was admitted to hospital in a critical condition after an incident in the lift of The Altius Hotel at Phase-2, Industrial Area, on Saturday. The youth is a kitchen employee at the hotel.

Anuj was rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, with severe internal injuries. At night, his family shifted him to a leading private hospital in Mohali owing to the shortage of ventilators at GMCH-32. Police sources said Anuj’s condition is critical.

The incident took place on the second floor of The Altius around 4.30 pm. Police were informed about the incident by medical staff members at the emergency ward of GMCH. Preliminary information suggests that Anuj’s body was crushed by the movement of the lift. Sources said another hotel employee was also on the second floor and about to enter the lift when the incident happened.

Hotel owner MPS Chawla, a former nominated councillor of the civic body, said, “The exact reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained. Our hotel staff members rushed the injured to GMCH, Sector 32, and the hotel management is bearing all the medical expenses of the victim. We called a team of lift mechanics to inspect the lift at the hotel.”

In their statement to police, some hotel employees said when they spotted Anuj, he was unconscious and bleeding from the head. So, they immediately rushed him to GMCH, Sector 32. Inspector Jaswinder Kaur, SHO of Sector 31 police station, said, “Anuj has slipped into comma. As all the ventilators were already occupied by patients, Anuj was referred to a private hospital in Mohali on the request of his family members. The hotel owner, MPS Chawla, is being questioned in this connection. An FIR will be registered shortly.”

A DDR was lodged at Sector 31 PS. Anuj’s father died a few years back and he is the youngest among three siblings, including two sisters who are married. Incidentally, in the case of two-year-old Madhav, police had booked and arrested the four owners and a general manager of Hotel Solitaire for endangering life of personal safety of
others.